Madame Tussauds launched a worldwide pirate attack to celebrate the arrival of
its newest model today.

A wax replica of Johnny Depp’s swashbuckling alter ego from the Pirates of the Caribbean films, complete with trademark bandanas and a suitably vacant look in the eyes has become the latest addition to the Madame Tussauds collection.

In a style reminiscent of the character’s notoriously unsubtle pirating ways, the model arrived in London at the helm of a river cruiser and sailed down the Thames, dreadlocks unmoving, past Big Ben, the Gherkin and Tower Bridge before arriving at the famous waxwork museum.

Eight other ports around the world simultaneously received a visit from the buccaneering boatman, which took Madame Tussauds experts three months to perfect.

Passengers on the Staten Island Ferry had to make room for the model as it headed for the shores of New York, while other invaded waterfronts included Hong Kong's Victoria harbour, the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok and the legendary Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, where Sparrow arrived by gondola.

The launch precedes a new release from Walt Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which will open in UK cinemas on May 18.